Why We Need High Speed Rail
Entry posted by Railblazer
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How many of you have heard about plans to build High Speed Rail lines in Florida and California (among other places)? Anyone who said no has got to get a better grip on modern communication. It's been news for a while. But why is it needed?
Easy. Airports are becoming overcrowded. Highways too. Conventional rail can't always get people around fast enough. High speed rail (Defined in the U.S. as over 125 mph) could decrease travel times a lot. (The max train speed in many places is 79 mph.) The Northeast Corridor's Acela Express has shown that high speed rail has a major impact on the area it serves. So why not build it everywhere?
It needs to be economical. High speed works best on distances of 4 hours or less. It needs a dedicated right of way to work best. (Acela travels partly on dedicated track and partly shares with freight traffic.) Most of it is electric, so you need power. And it all adds up to a huge cost. That's what discouraged it in the U.S. (France and Japan had their governments subsidize their high speed lines.) Although the U.S. Gov. gives Amtrak money, it's not for building high speed lines.
However, there are several places that are planning to at least go to speeds of 90-110 mph. Here are a few that are planning or would be ideal locations for high or higher speed rail.:
Vancouver, B.C.-Eugene, OR via Seattle and Portland, OR. Although the Cascades serves this route, it can't go much faster than the Coast Starlight. Track improvements would greatly help.
California-L.A. to Bay Area and Sacramento. It's the most populous state in the U.S. It's already gone into great planning. It just needs to start building!
Florida-Tampa to Orlando. Much planning has gone into this as well. It might not be as economical as other locations, though. If extended to Miami, it would really help.
Boston, MA-Washington, D.C. via New York. This is the route of the Acela Express.
Chicago, IL to Milwaukee, WI. Although the Hiawatha service runs this, it uses standard equipment. Wisconson is buying two new Talgo carsets, similar to those on the Cascades, which will allow for higher speeds.
Texas. A high speed line from Dallas/Fort Worth-Houston-San Antonio-Austin would be pretty popular, I bet. Those are some big cities.
Las Vegas, NV-Victorville, CA. This would be within 50 miles of the California High Speed Rail system. An extension to Palmdale would connect it. Traffic from L.A. to Las Vegas would definetaly be a moneymaker.
As I have said, there are other places. But this is a good idea. And if you want to see the Future of U.S. rail (hopefully)...go ride the Cascades.
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